November 17, 2024  •   View this email in your browser

Happy Sunday!

I hope you're having either a relaxing or fun-filled weekend. If you're traveling today, it's looking like a smooth one for U.S. travelers as there have only been 43 canceled flights so far. 

🎁 Give the gift of food and wine in California this holiday season
This holiday season, skip the socks and sweaters and get more creative with your gift-giving. Last week, we wrote about giving the gift of family-friendly travel to California this holiday season. This week, our featured story, in partnership with Visit California, is about giving the gift of food and wine in California. These experiential gift ideas are sure to be more memorable and more treasured than anything you can wrap.

🏷️ Apple AirTags
Wednesday's tip was one of our most popular in a while. One of the big reasons so many people shared it is because airlines will now be integrating Apple's Find My technology into their systems to better handle and more quickly locate lost luggage, making Apple AirTags even more of a travel must-have. Plus, Apple AirTags are at the lowest price we've ever seen ... just $19 for one (or $79 for four). 

Update to a crazy story from a couple of weeks ago
There's a lot of travel news this week so make sure you scroll down to see all the top stories. As you may recall, I wrote a story a couple of weeks ago titled: Outrageous insurance fraud scam caught on camera proves why everyone needs a dashcam. There's been a good news update as the driver was arrested and it wasn’t who it originally appeared to be. Here's the story and the update. 

⛈️ Tropical Storm Sara
United Airlines issued a travel waiver this week that allows for voluntary changes for travel to, from or through the airports listed below for travel through tomorrow (November 18):

•    Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR)
•    Belize City, BZ (BZE)
•    Roatan, HN (RTB)
•    San Pedro Sula, HN (SAP)
•    Tegucigalpa, HN (XPL)
 
📰 In the news
For nearly a decade, I've been a judge for the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards. Here are the 2024 winners. If you live in Alaska, you might have caught some of my quotes in the Anchorage Daily News in this piece: Holiday travel is stressful. Here are tips for family-friendly trips this season.


My dad passed away in March 2023 but there's not a day that goes by that I don't talk about or think of him, but especially this week since yesterday would have been his 96th birthday. I'm sure he's having fun and probably at Heaven's Las Vegas.

In this issue:

• Today's Travel Outlook ✈️
• Travel Tips This Week ✅
• Travel Quote of the Day 💬
• Travel Thread of the Day 
• 12 Things to Know in Travel Today 🌎
• Travel Video of the Day 📺
• and more… 

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 

As of 9:23am PT, there have been 43 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 1,046 delayed. Here's a link to the up-to-date stats and a live look at the FAA's National Airspace System Status. Here's what to do during weather delays and flight cancelations.

🧭 Travel Product of the Week

46% off! $13.59 for a cruise-approved power strip
Whether you're planning to cruise over the holidays or have a cruise booked for 2025, you'll want to take advantage of these big savings. Save 46% on the purchase of cruise-approved, non-surge protected power strip with two USB outlets. Read more about this cruise essential here and buy it here.

🎖️ Monday (Veterans Day)

Give your upgrade to a soldier
One thing American Airlines should be commended for is their treatment of U.S. soldiers. I truly debated if I should write about this or not. I don’t want it to look like I did it for anything other than what it was … the right thing to do. But I’m hoping that bringing attention to it just might inspire others to do the same. Read the story here.

🚆Tuesday

(Expired) Amtrak launches national winter travel flash sale, up to 40% off hundreds of destinations
I know I write mostly about airfares but traveling by train can be a much better option and experience, depending on when and where you’re going and your travel style. That’s why Amtrak’s National Winter Travel Flash Sale is worth checking out. Here's what you need to know.

🧳Wednesday

Apple's new update makes AirTags an absolute must-have for travelers so they can easily track down lost luggage
If you've been a subscriber to this newsletter for the past few years, you know that I've been recommending traveling with Apple AirTags for a long time. Well, they're even more of a must-have now, following Apple's latest announcement about how AirTags will be integrated into airline systems. Also worth noting: At the time of this newsletter distribution, Apple AirTags are on sale for the lowest price we've seen (30% off). Read the story here.

🥰Thursday

Romance scams on the rise in tourist areas: Here’s how to protect yourself
Fox News ran an interesting story about the rise of romance scams in popular tourist areas that are targeting Americans. Here's what travelers need to know.

️🚨 Friday

U.S. government warns travelers not to fall for this TSA PreCheck scam
It's getting increasingly more difficult to distinguish legitimate emails from scams because scammers are getting better and better at deceiving unsuspecting people. That's why the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is issuing this warning to travelers. 

⚠️Saturday

‘This is crazy’: Frontier Airlines gate agent refuses boarding to U.S. Navy sailor unless he pays her
As if you needed another reason not to fly Frontier Airlines. Here's the outrageous story.

📺 Travel Videos of the Week

In extreme turbulence, SAS flies 5 hours over Atlantic instead of making emergency landing at airport just 30 minutes away

Spirit Airlines plane hit by gunfire; flight attendant wounded

Escorting a fallen soldier home on Delta Air Lines turned an ordinary flight into the most extraordinary flight of my life

Hilarious: Pilots when their wives call on layovers

Alaska Airlines plane loses tire after takeoff and continues cross-country flight to LAX

🌎 Top 12 Travel Stories of the Week

1 FAA bans U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti after planes hit by suspected gunfire
2 Bullet strikes Southwest Airlines plane as it prepares to depart from Dallas airport
3 American Airlines plane performs 'expedited climb' to avoid mountain in Hawaii
4 Airbus A380 flew for 300 hours with tool left inside engine
5 Spirit Airlines moves toward bankruptcy filing after Frontier drops merger bid
6 San Francisco wins order blocking Oakland's airport from using 'San Francisco' name
7 American Airlines loses Northeast Alliance appeal
8 New York to launch $9 Manhattan congestion charge in January
9 Tropical Storm Sara dumps more than 20 inches of rain on parts of Honduras
10 Disney Cruise ship rescues 4 people off sinking catamaran in Bermuda
11 18 United Airlines passengers sickened from suspected food poisoning during Tokyo-bound flight
12 Alaska Airlines plane loses tire after takeoff and continues cross-country flight to LAX
Read it all here as well as the 84 other top travel news stories from this past week!

✅ Currency Exchange

✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points

💳 Our favorite credit card rewards to earn in 2024

💳 5 reasons why the Bilt Card is worth it
The Bilt World Elite Mastercard continues to be the best way to pay rent with a card as you can earn 1 point per dollar in rent payments without fees. However, if you have a high monthly payment, you can reach the previous $50,000 annual earning cap before year-end. Thankfully, the annual Bilt points cap is being lifted so you can earn more points on rent. Here are 5 of the best reasons the Bilt Card is worth it.